Financial Aid Probation
A student who has been granted an appeal will be placed on financial aid probation. Students in this status have their eligibility for Title IV program assistance reinstated for one payment period (semester). At the end of the probationary semester, the college will review the student’s academic progress to determine whether the student has met the appropriate SAP standard or has fulfilled the requirements specified in the student’s academic plan.
A student who once again meets the appropriate progress standard after the probationary semester will continue to receive Title IV assistance until the next scheduled progress evaluation. Students who meet all the conditions of their academic plan at the end of the probationary semester will continue to receive Title IV assistance on a monitored, semester-by-semester basis until the next scheduled progress evaluation.
There is no limit on the number of times a student may follow the financial aid appeals procedure. Although a student may file only one appeal per payment period (semester), additional appeals to extend financial aid probation to subsequent semesters are allowed. As in the original appeal, the student would indicate the mitigating circumstances, the reasons why SAP was not achieved, and what has changed that will ensure the student will be able to meet SAP at the next evaluation. If a student fails to meet the conditions of an approved academic plan, he or she may submit an additional appeal to modify or adjust the plan for the subsequent payment period(s) documenting any unusual circumstances that prevented them from meeting the goals established by the original plan.
The college may approve or decline the subsequent appeal and may create an updated plan based on the information submitted.
Re-establishing Eligibility
Other than having eligibility restored through filing a successful appeal, a student on financial aid suspension may regain eligibility only by taking action that brings him or her into compliance with the appropriate progress standard. The mere passage of time is insufficient to restore Title IV eligibility to a student who has lost eligibility due to not meeting the SAP standard. Therefore, students may not re-establish eligibility solely by leaving the institution for at least one year because this action, by itself, would not bring the student into compliance for Title IV SAP.
Students who choose to remain enrolled without receiving Title IV aid may request a review of their academic record after any term in which they were on financial aid suspension to determine if they were able to re-attain the appropriate standard.
If a student is on financial aid suspension at the beginning of the academic year for not meeting one or more components of the school’s SAP standard, but meets them at some point later in the academic year, the student may regain Title IV eligibility as follows:
Federal Pell Grant/Campus-Based Funds
For Pell Grant and campus-based programs, the student regains eligibility retroactively to the beginning of the most recent payment period during which the student once again met the school’s satisfactory academic progress standards, unless the school’s satisfactory progress policy provides for reinstatement of eligibility at some later point.
Federal Direct Loan Programs
For Federal Direct program funds, the student regains eligibility for the entire period of enrollment. Again, this period generally coincides with the entire academic year, unless the school’s satisfactory academic progress policy provides for reinstatement of eligibility at some later point.